As George W. Bush Institute officials looked last year for ways to empower women in the Middle East, they focused on a country that seemed prime for a democratic breakthrough: Egypt.

Now, months after that country’s promise dissolved into political chaos and civil unrest, institute leaders — including former first lady Laura Bush — remain resolute in launching an Egyptian women’s fellowship program to develop leadership and networking skills.

That’s not because progress there has been fast or simple but because it’s been difficult and at times fleeting.

The 14 Egyptian women in the inaugural fellowship class remain fiercely optimistic despite problems they face in their country: threats to constitutional rights, abuses of political power and a struggling economy.

The juxtaposition hit hardest on Sept. 11, when institute officials and program mentors visited the fellows while crowds protested nearby at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

That dichotomy is now one of the motivating factors in the Bush Institute’s doubling down on Egypt and organizing a second fellowship group there.

“It made me realize even more how critical it is to be supporting the women now,” said Charity Wallace, director of the Bush Institute’s women’s initiative. “Now more than ever is when we need to be there.”

A frequent refrain from former President George W. Bush is that women will guide the freedom movements in the Middle East. The Bush Institute, part of the presidential center set to open in April at Southern Methodist University, wanted a program to nurture those potential leaders.

Working off research that the power of a women’s network — even more than educational opportunities — is the greatest indicator of success, Bush officials decided to focus on one country to help foster relationships there.

“We need to … have these networks that are broad, so there is a really loud voice that says, ‘We don’t want to live this way,’” Laura Bush said in an interview. “‘We don’t want to be worried when we go on the street … because that’s not the kind of life we want.’”

After Mubarak

Egypt seemed a natural choice, especially as it emerged from three decades under the dictatorial rule of President Hosni Mubarak. The Bush Institute brought the 14 women representing different backgrounds and career paths to the U.S. in February for a month of training.

The group included Nora Mishriky, 45, who took over her husband’s printing business when he died four years ago; Amany Eid, 36, who has a marketing and consulting background; and Azza Koura, 53, a prolific fundraiser.

The fellows learned from mentors, including former White House counsel Harriet Miers, former Dallas Morning News editorial page editor Rena Pederson and Washington consultant and fundraiser Lindi Harvey. They took classes at SMU to improve their entrepreneurial and communication skills. And they bonded as they spent time in Texas and traveled across the U.S.

“I learned how to live my life with purpose, how to get my ideas heard,” Mishriky said in a Skype interview. “I came back to Egypt more powerful and energized.”

But the promise of a new Egypt under President Mohammed Morsi didn’t materialize as many had hoped, with protesters once again returning to the streets.

In recent months, women who helped fuel the revolution have been largely ignored by those they helped put in power. The Morsi government successfully pushed an Islamist-backed constitution that could roll back some women’s civil rights.

The stagnant economy hasn’t improved, and 50 percent of Egyptian women live under the poverty line of $2 a day, according to Jessica Winegar, an anthropology professor at Northwestern University.

Even some at the Bush Institute said they were perhaps a bit sanguine about what the women would face upon returning home.

“We’re very impatient here in the United States, of course, although we shouldn’t be when we look at our own history and how long it took us,” Laura Bush said.

Although the Bush Institute’s training continued in Egypt — with regular workshops, Skype sessions and visits — the country’s harsh realities affected the fellows as they tried to apply their new skills and accomplish their goals.

Koura said the political and economic climate interrupted work and made fundraising more difficult. Mishriky said there was concern that women could lose rights and that “it’s not going as we hoped.”

Eid, who found it difficult to find a new job, was getting ready to launch an interactive online tool to allow residents to give feedback to their local politicians but dropped the project when the Parliament dissolved.

“There was a lot of instability,” Eid said in a phone interview. “I didn’t know what to do with myself.”

Showing its mettle

Then, in ways that surprised even those at the Bush Institute, the women’s network showed its mettle.

Koura, who’s working to expand the Association of Fundraising Professionals in the Middle East, started helping other fellows raise money. The women returned the favor with graphics, website and printing work, helping her secure $30 million for cancer research in Egypt.

Mishriky provided printed materials for others. In exchange, they chipped in with photography and other tools, pushing her toward her goal of developing and publishing self-help books for women.

The network then started to grow, giving hope to Bush officials that their small-scale efforts might have a broader impact.

Eid, who now runs a women’s program at a large nongovernmental organization, leaned on other fellows to help organize a mentor walk in November to promote more female leaders. She said she knocked “on every possible door.”

She persuaded a friend to cater it by pointing out that it would help promote her new TV cooking show. She roped in a group of men to provide protection on the walk by noting that it would help publicize their safety efforts during the protests.

In that manner, the event for 100 women came together.

But in the end, Eid had to show her own strength. A prominent Egyptian entertainer was supposed to give the keynote address, titled “The Moment of Truth.” Time passed, and it became clear the woman wouldn’t make it.

So Eid, the mentee turned mentor, stepped to the microphone and told her story.

“Egyptian women have a lot of resilience,” she explained later.

“This is not the best possible time for the country, but I am positive. I am optimistic.”